{"id":12611,"date":"2014-01-31T14:35:12","date_gmt":"2014-01-31T22:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=12611"},"modified":"2014-01-31T16:55:46","modified_gmt":"2014-02-01T00:55:46","slug":"case-bets-cromwell-new-jersey-caesars-borgata-and-sundry-items","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/case-bets-cromwell-new-jersey-caesars-borgata-and-sundry-items\/","title":{"rendered":"Case Bets: Cromwell, New Jersey, Caesars, Borgata and sundry items"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"web1_cromwell_rendering_web_1\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Editor’s note<\/strong>: The origins of the somewhat eccentric name change can be found in the undercurrents of the Pacific Ocean<\/a>. It’s now a Caesars-owned brand, with the company registering every Cromwellian iteration<\/a> it can find<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Cromwell<\/strong> is the new brand name that Caesars Entertainment<\/strong> has mysteriously bestowed<\/a> on the old Barbary Coast<\/strong> (currently undergoing a massive makeover). If the moniker means anything to the general public it is usually a predominantly untoward association<\/a>. I mean, Oliver Cromwell<\/strong> wasn’t a Vegas kind of guy.<\/p>\n

Early results from Internet<\/strong> betting in New Jersey<\/strong> have been disappointing, no question. But a\u00a0Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality & Tourism at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey<\/strong> poll showed that interest has already doubled<\/a>. (OK, so it was up from 3% up to 7%, but that’s still progress.) Better still were the results on sports betting, which has 55% support. Of course, the opinion of 55% of New Jersey punters carries zero weight with the U.S. Supreme Court<\/strong>, which is the only venue left for legalizing the practice.<\/p>\n

Caught between harsh weather and low hold percentages, Borgata<\/strong> has been a disappointment to Boyd Gaming<\/strong> this winter. The company is warning of 4Q13 loss that could be as deep as $50 million. The stock market reacted equably, with Boyd making a slight gain. The company is thought to have announced the loss now, rather than at its earnings call, to soften any “ticker shock.” \u201cWhile the extent of Borgata\u2019s decline is a bit surprising, the overall state of Boyd\u2019s portfolio … is not<\/em>.” wrote Macquarie Securities analyst Chad Beynon.<\/p>\n

\"revel-casino-\"<\/a>Caesars Entertainment<\/strong> owns four casinos (including two of the top three) in Atlantic City<\/strong>, plus a defunct hotel. Now it reportedly wants to acquire one of the weakest performers, Revel<\/strong>. Why it would want to do this, potentially diluting its customer base, is a mystery. State Sen. James Whelan<\/strong> (D) wants Gov. Chris Christie<\/strong>‘s administration to invoke an “undue economic concentration” clause<\/a> and put a stop to the madness. (Why do you think Caesars had to sell the Atlantic City Hilton<\/strong> a decade ago?) Caesars CEO Gary Loveman<\/strong>‘s favored strategy is a surprisingly crude one: Own the most capacity in any given market. This can be a recipe for mediocrity but its made his company the most widespread in gaming.<\/p>\n

However, horseracing has<\/strong> pretty clearly not been a priority for Caesars at Harrah’s Philadelphia<\/strong>. The apparent neglect of the racing oval is blamed for a crash in which harness racer Anthony Coletta<\/strong> sustained permanent brain injuries<\/a>. It’s all too sad for words.<\/p>\n

Reality ($821 million) is<\/strong> colliding with propaganda ($1.9 billion in casino revenue) in the State of Ohio<\/strong>, where government is going to have to make do with less casino-tax money<\/a> for education than it was led (or led itself) to believe. Gov. John Kasich<\/strong>‘s prized racinos will only worsen the problems, as their tax monies go to the Ohio Lottery Commission and not to schools.<\/p>\n

* If this<\/a> is “a pretty good quarter” for Mohegan Sun<\/strong> I’m not sure I’d want to see a bad one.<\/p>\n

* Chinese New Year<\/strong> is here, and it requires of the casino executive and planning staff a depth of cultural nuance<\/a> you’d probably not expect.<\/p>\n

* When it comes to revitalizing downtown Las Vegas<\/strong>, why didn’t somebody think of this sooner<\/a>?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note: The origins of the somewhat eccentric name change can be found in the undercurrents of the Pacific Ocean. It’s now a Caesars-owned brand, with the company registering every Cromwellian iteration it can find. Cromwell is the new brand … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12611"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12611"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12623,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12611\/revisions\/12623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}